MANILA, Philippines – President Rodrigo Duterte is finally stepping in the 2019 budget rumpus as he decided to serve as “moderator” during the meeting between Senate and House leaders on Tuesday night.
The meeting is aimed “to thresh out” differences on the ratified 2019 national budget, according to Malacañang.
Speaker Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, House appropriations committee chair Rolando Andaya Jr., Senate President Vicente Sotto III and other senators are set to meet the President in Malcañang.
READ: Senators to meet Duterte amid budget row
“You know, the style of the President, he listens. He listens and they let the protagonist settle among themselves. He will just be a moderator,” Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said in a Palace briefing.
“He will just moderate. He will just listen. Maybe, he just, I’m just speculating, he may have brought the two together so they can talk and discuss,” Panelo added.
The bicameral report on the 2019 national budget has yet to be submitted to Malacañang over allegations of last-minute realignments.
In a speech in Malacañang on Monday, Duterte said would not sign “anything that would be illegal.”
READ: Duterte on budget impasse: ‘I will not sign anything illegal’
“Well, generally he is referring to anything that will fall under the prohibitive clause of the Constitution. Anything that is illegal, unconstitutional, he will not be a part of that,” he said.
“Right now there is a controversy between the House and the Senate. The Senate claims that the itemization of the P79 billion funds is unconstitutional. But the House claims that it is not. So, let us see,” he added.
The Palace official said the two legislative Houses could settle their differences during the meeting.
“I understand they will be having a meeting tonight (Tuesday), maybe it’s on the agenda for them to thresh out whatever differences they have,” he said.
Panelo said Malacañang is hopeful the budget impasse would be resolved after the meeting.
“Yes, of course, the goal of all branches of government is to unite and have as a goal the welfare of the people,” he said. “We hope for the best.”
Following allegations that last-minute realignments and amendments of the budget after it had been ratified were unconstitutional, Panelo said the Supreme Court would have to decide on the issue.
“You know, as a lawyer, I always say that there are as many opinions as there are lawyers. It’s a gray area; the Supreme Court will have to decide on that. But they don’t have to raise that as an issue, they can just agree with each other,” he said.
“The final arbiter of any legal issue,” he said, “would be the Supreme Court.”
“But why do you have to go to the Supreme Court if you can settle it among yourselves,” he also said. /kga